In the little time I've spent here on 405th, I've noticed a lot of ODST builds. A lot were awesome! Some were...yeah.

I chose to do an ODST build because 1) ODSTs are B.A, and 2) ODSTs are B.A. That just about sums it up. I wanted something high-grade that I could use in airsoft games and things like that, so this isn't going to be a simple bondo/rondo/whatever job. My plans for this build are start with the run-of-the-mill pepakura job. After that, I want to go ahead and use the clay pour method as seen on this thread by skylow (http://www.405th.com/showthread.php/...ra+clay+method). I want to make this as durable as possible, so I'll be using the finished molding to make a buck for either vacuum or injection molding.
I've considered using ABS plastic if I were to do injection molding, and simple sheet plastic if I were to do the vacuforming. If you have any ideas on which is better, let me know. And don't worry, I am fond of using the stickies, but it helps to hear a reader's opinion.
Anydangway, I went ahead and hunted down Kirrou's kick-awesome pepakura files, and decided it would be best to start with the tester helmet to make sure I know how to scale things up and down, and all around.

This was the disastrous result:

As you can see, I am definitely not ready to be shot from space into battle! Kirrou's file was fantastic for a first build, with the exception that I did not think to scale it down beforehand.

FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU UUUUUUUUUUU

That's beside the point. Obviously, I was not about to pour hot, melty clay into this...thing.

So, I went to plan B. The helmet was a little difficult to work with, thanks to my printer and one wimpy toner cartridge, so cutting and folding was more of a chore than it needed to be. I could just barely see what I was working with, so there were a considerable number of errors the first time around. In the end, there wasn't much warping, but there was no way something this comedic was going on my head any time soon.

The best thing to do was pick a simpler model and try it out, with the hopes it would come out better. But wait? Kirrou's tester file was simple enough as it is! How was I going to find anything simpler?

Thus became plan B.

As it turns out, halocostuming.wikia.com had plenty of files to work with, and I settled on using the Halo 2 ODST helmet and equipment to get me started down the road to awesome.

Here are the far less tragic results.

Here's the shoulder pauldron:

I only decided to do one pauldron because they're symmetrical, and that means once I have the buck finished, I can make as many as I darn well please!

its looking good so far! i haven't seen anybody make an ODST with a halo 2 ODST helm yet, so this will be interesting to see how it turns out. it looks like you got the size perfect for the second helmet you have there, and it looks good. just a warning though, ODST builds are a lot more complicated than Spartan builds, mainly because of the smooth, rounded faces and how many peices there. the average basic suit has twenty two or so parts, not including the weapon, COMM packs, grenades, or bio foam or any upgrades you want. don't be discouraged though, it appears to me that you're off to a great start! i cant wait to see the final assembly.

Yeah, it was pretty evident only a few fold in that the ODST build was going to be a challenging one for a beginner such as myself. Even Kirrou's tester helmet had so many detailed folds and cuts that it took sitting through all my existing Rush albums to finish cutting the pieces out! After I got done with the tester, it dawned on me that I knew nothing of scaling or anything like that, so seeing how cartoonishly huge it was left me rolling on the floor in frustration and laughter.
After finishing the second helmet, I'm wondering if I should do the rest of the suit after the manner of the Halo 2 ODSTs, or if I should take a less orthodox method and complete the rest of it using components from the modern ODSTs. Since I'm using the clay pour method, Most of the detail, in either case, would be done on the clay sculptures. The H2 ODSTs consist of way fewer parts, but as you can see, I've already begun down the path of a hybrid ODST, starting with the shoulder pauldrons.

I don't know about you, but no matter which route I take, I feel like some of the other parts will be a little less challenging than the tester helmet was! Thank you for the encouraging advice!

here's a scaling tip from a fellow ODST. for scaling you need to go to to 2D menu, all the way down to change scale, and change the hight of the peice for the peice of the build. for example, for my head, i used kirrou's file at 285mm, from my chin to the top of my head. you can't forget to add about an inch to an inch and a half just for extra room that will be filled by resin/rondo and foam/padding. just grab a ruler, stand in a mirror and see what will fit your head. dont forget though, your measurements need to be in milimeters. hope this helps

I didn't even think to use pepakura designer when I set out on this project a while back, but I guess I got the 2nd helmet pretty close by just adjusting my printers settings. But, I will probably end up adjusting the rest of the components just in case. I didn't upload a shot of the shoulder pauldrons on me, but they came out perfect in terms of sizing.

I can't work on the chest plates or torso until I make a trip to the store and pick up a few packs of cardstock, though! That's an adventure for tomorrow, I think... I may (or may not) give kirrou's HD ODST helmet a shot later down the road, but for now, I'm going to use what I've got and see how things go.

Alas, a double post, but this pertains to my recent endeavors!
I was finally able to run down to the store, and lugged about 150 sheets of cardstock home with me.
About an hour later, we have this monstrosity:
[IMG][/IMG]

Like I said, this is a hybrid build, so there's models here from Halo 2, 3, and Reach. I have the usual ODST chestpiece and torso from Halo 2, but I have chest attachments from the MJOLNIR Mk V [K] variant. I've also got a Mk V [K] shoulder for the other side, and a plethora of other things like gauntlets, bicep pieces from the Mk V/B, H2 ODST shinplates, and probably more things than I can even remember.

There's also a JFO and a Security helmet in there, because two of my friends need me to make them some armor, but don't have the time to do it themselves.

Great pepping so far! One concern I have (and I am speaking from experience) is printing everything out beforehand. Now you are probably smarter than I, but I forgot to scale everything before printing it out so I was left with a bunch of awesome peps...for a 7ft spartan. I scrapped it all and started over. Besides the point, but I hope you did your homework before printing it all out. Best of luck! Looking forward to seeing the finished product.

Finally, after countless hours of blackening my hands with ink from scoring, and caking my fingers with glue, I have finished the next component of my Hybrid ODST armor, the belt!
I'm working based on whatever the heck I feel like doing next, which is why I did the belt instead of the chestpiece. That, and in the printing process, I forgot to activate the 'Show Edge ID' option when I ran the chest components off. I won't need to reprint it, although I could if I was careful about how I inserted the paper, but it will necessitate referring to the computer as I work on it.

You'll notice I didn't glue a portion together. My reason for this was I planned for including a buckle in the finished product. I decided that each of those individual 'hard-cases', as I'm referring to them, will be vaccuformed separately, and affixed to a self-closing Velcro loop. These loops will be attached to a trustworthy nylon belt of heavy-duty construction, and the completed belt will look pretty much like it should. The only thing I noticed about this unfinished pep is that, if all the pieces were molded altogether, it would be rather stiff, and therefore quite difficult to wear and move around in. The nylon piece will be adjustable, and cases could be easily unstrapped to facilitate this. I'm thinking the individual pieces will actually be injection-molded from Kydex plastic instead of something like ABS plastic, but I'm still looking into it. Kydex seems pretty durable, though.
Next, I will turn my attention to the chest piece!